


Entanglementverse Vignettes

by SecretScrimshander (SecretSandbar)



Series: Entanglementsverse [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Little Vignettes in the Entanglements Universe, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-16 00:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14801177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretSandbar/pseuds/SecretScrimshander
Summary: A series of Vignettes telling the stories of the characters featured in the story Imperial Entanglements, before, during, and possibly, after their relationships.





	Entanglementverse Vignettes

1: Home for the Holidays?

Pairing: Horseshoe Crabs

  
Skylla Koriga paced the too short, too cramped compartment of the waiting area and fumed. It initially seemed more like a defeated snappishness, but if you got close enough to see the fire in her eyes, it was entirely obvious that she was pissed as hell.

  
Karkat Vantas could tell, and frankly, the whole situation was fucked. Two cancelled flights, three false starts to new planes, and all of their luggage vanishing to shit fuck nowhere was turning a pale vacation into a nightmare.

  
Skylla was mad at the airline, sure, but she was also mad on his behalf, and that was what was pissing him off. He's scrimped and saved leave time for this, and he was only dirtside for another few days.

  
Finally, a harried looking troll came up to them, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. He carried a clipboard, and Karkat took just a moment to be hopeful. His hope was quickly dashed, of course, when the attendent told them that "unforttunattely, tthey would have tto sttay tthe nightt in a hottel."

  
He passed Skylla two hotel ticket stubs then, and directed them toward the door and waiting taxis. Those would of course be exorbiantly expensive, but they didn't really have a choice. Bronze or not, the attendent was an employee, and they'd have the higher blooded security trolls here in a heartbeat if they kicked up a fuss, even if Karkat was a celebrity traveling with his equally popular moirail.

  
Imperial Favor didn't mean much, and the old saying of "out of sight, out of mind" seemed to apply to the Empress as well, at least when they were out of uniform, taking personal time. Oh, it kept them alive. Everyone who was anyone knew that Vantas and Koriga were in quadrants with Her Imperious Condescension.  
Skylla still looked pissed, but she did her best to buck up for his sake.

  
"I reckon yyou and I will have to set still for at least a dayy," she mused, obviously annoyed. "It's annoyying, but I think we'll manage to think of something to do."  
Skylla laced her arm with his, and pulled herself up to her considerable height, which just made the difference more comical.  
"lets git while the gittins' good, eh Crabcake?"

  
That made him blush. Meenah, that is, the Empress, used that nickname with startling regularity, but when Skylla started dropping it, it mean all sorts of gears were turning.

  
"I just want to get out of this sweltering fucking airport," he replied, once again cursing all highbloods for their metabolisms. "get to some halfway decent 'hottel' and crank the AC."

  
Skylla laughed loudly at his mocking attempt at the attendents quirk, but gave him a single, soft touch on the cheek.  
"That's prettyy much the best idea I've heard to todayy."

One altogether too long card ride later, Karkat had signed two different tshirts for the olive blooded taxi driver, who seemed to be a fan. Skylla had signed four, but Karkat figured she was just being nice. He also wondered why the hell the driver was carrying six shirts in his trunk, but given the fact that he'd been wearing three, he just chalked it up to more Alternian Weird Shit™

  
What mattered was the fact that their status had appearently not gotten them a nice hotel. It had gotten them a six story, refurbished hivestem. Their room was smaller than Karkat's bunk on ship, and that was saying something.

  
Skylla took to it with optimism and gusto, just like she did with most new things. She'd dragged him in, and set up a pile with alarming efficency. Then she'd pulled him down, stroking one hand down the side of his face.

  
Room 12 smelled like sweat and air fresheners, but the air was cool, and Skylla was so very, very soft.

  
Skylla looked down at Karkat as he finally relaxed, a well deserved papping letting him bring it down, just a tad. His own hands were cool on her face, and the roughness of his knuckles was more than allayed by his tenderness.

  
"Shooosh," she slurred, a giggle welling in her throat for the fourth time in just under fifteen minutes.

  
How had she ever made it without a moirail? It was like getting drunk, without the impairment, like curling up in a soothing 'coon after a harsh days work.  
"and," she thought with a shudder as Karkat shifted to be closer to her, vulnerable and soft, "Karkat was an excellent palemate."

  
She should be worried, to have another troll this close, but Karkat would throw himself into impossible odds to protect her. Had. had thrown himself into impossible odds, and come out on top. Skylla blushed, nuzzling into him, then spoke.

"Pale for you, Crabcake."

  
Karkat always seemed to get sleepy during feels jams, and the previous, half remembered conversation they'd had about their trip had seemed to take it out of him. Of course, it was hard to string together a coherent thought when you were frantically papping each other very few seconds.

  
"so fuckin' pale," he murmurred back, then snickered uncharitably.

  
"I justt can'tt sttop tthinking of tthatt mottherfucking attttendentt and his accentt," he said, before collapsing into intoxicatingly carefree laughter again.  
Skylla felt herself grin, the response almost instinct level in response to his joy.

  
"I reckon tthatt tthatt double tt wasttes quitte a bitt of ttime," she managed to get out, before collapsing into a giggling fit of her own.

  
Karkat stopped laughing, then ran a hand down her spine, the other stroking her cheek in a frankly unfair double pap/back rub combo.

  
"It's not some kind of grand resort," he said contentedly, "but I'm almost glad we didn't get to go on vacation."

  
Skylla thought for a moment, then rolled over, pinning him beneath her with a grin. When she spoke, Karkat froze, the shift in tone just a bit stunning. He flushed, looking up at her expectantly.

  
"I reckon we can still make this trip worthwhile" she said, still grinning wickedly "....Crabcake."


End file.
